₧869-M checks for displaced OFWs out
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RESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. announced on Tuesday that over P868.74 million worth of benefits of the 1,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who were displaced from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in 2015 and 2016, has already been released. In a brief video message, the chief executive said the Overseas Filipino Bank at the Land Bank of the Philippines already processed t he “ indemnit y checks” of 1,104 beneficiaries issued by the Alinma Bank of Saudi Arabia.
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“The amount of the released check is P868,740,544,” Marcos said in Filipino, adding, “1,014 has been cleared and credited. Of which 843 were already paid.” The paid amount for the 843 checks amounted to close to P700 million. The beneficiaries were part of the 10,544 OFWs, who were former employees of Saudi Oger and Mohammad Al Mojil Group. The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) earlier said some of the beneficiaries were unable to encash the checks because they were in
Saudi Riyal. Last week, the government issued an advisory instructing the first batch of beneficiaries to update their contact information in preparation for the payment of their unpaid claims. The payment is part of the commitment made to President Marcos Jr. by Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman to settle the unpaid claims of the displaced OFWs. The Saudi government allocated 2 billion Saudi Riyal for the said payments. Samuel P. Medenilla
BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business
GOVT KEEPING EYE ON FOOD SUPPLY, PRICES www.businessmirror.com.ph
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Wednesday, February 7, 2024 Vol. 19 No. 115
P25.00 nationwide | 3 sections 30 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
& Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan
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MID expectations that the benign inf lation in Januar y will be shortlived, the national government vowed to rema in v ig i lant in averting price spikes especially by closely tracking food supply. On Tuesday, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that inflation slowed to 2.8 percent, the lowest since the 2.3 percent posted in October 2020 when the country was still on lockdown. However, economists expect this to be short-lived. HSBC ASEAN economist Aris Dacanay said inflation is expected to rear its ugly head as upside risks to inflation are on the horizon. “Upside risks to inflation also linger. There are still pending petitions to hike minimum wages and transport fares, not to mention global rice prices that have yet to peak. The current inflation numbers are great, but the economy can’t completely relax just yet,” Dacanay said. However, the National Economic and Development Authority See “Food supply,” A2
DREAD OVER DREDGERS Manila Bay’s skyline is shrouded by rain clouds as seen from Diokno
Boulevard near Mall of Asia, providing a dramatic backdrop to the controversial Manila Bay reclamation project. The suspension of 22 such projects by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in August 2023, pending an environmental compliance review, has sparked heated debates, though a handful that were processed ahead by regulators have since been allowed to proceed. The initiatives collectively aim to reclaim over 10,000 hectares of land in Manila Bay, worrying some environmental groups. BERNARD TESTA
AS VALENTINE’S DAY NEARS, PNP WARNS VS. ‘LOVE SCAMS’ By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla
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OTING the proximit y of Va le nt i ne ’s Day, the Philippine Nationa l Police (PNP) on Tuesd ay w a r ned “ lone ly ” ind iv idu a ls aga inst “ love scams,” which can break not only their hearts, but even their bank accounts. I n a pres s con fe re nce in Malacañang on Tuesday, PNP and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) reported the
rising incidents of love scams and other cybercrimes, which marred government gains to reduce illegal activities. In a presentation at a sectoral meeting with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tu e s d ay i n M a l a c a ñ a n g , DILG and PNP reported the number of overall cr imes dropped by 10 percent from the period of July 2022 to January 2024 compared to the period of December 2020 to June 2022. See “Valentine’s,” A2
DPWH, House to cure gaps in govt infra spending in ’24 By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie
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N light of the Philippine Deve lopment R e por t 2023 ’s emphasis on the need to upgrade and expand the nation’s infrastructure, the chairman of the House Committee on Public Works and Highways said both the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the lower chamber will actively address the repercussions of significant budget cuts impacting the priority infrastructure programs of the government for this year. At Monday’s br iefing w ith DPWH officials, House Committee on Public Works and Highways
Chairman Romeo Momo strongly backed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s “Build, Better, More (BBM) Program” as he sought a bigger budget for the DPWH. “Indeed, the backbone of an economy is its infrastructure; hence, as legislators, we need to ensure that not only do we have relevant laws in support of our infrastructure projects and programs, such as the PPP [publicprivate partnership] Code and ROW [right-of-way] Bill [HB 6571, amending RA 10752]; but more importantly, the DPWH shall have a correct and sufficient budget for its various priority programs and See “DPWH,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 56.2350 n JAPAN 0.3782 n UK 70.5243 n HK 7.1898 n CHINA 7.8117 n SINGAPORE 41.7483 n AUSTRALIA 36.4515 n EU 60.4245 n KOREA 0.0422 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.9956 Source:
BSP (6 February 2024)